Core-in-shell exchanger refrigerant inlet flow distributor

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses and systems for introducing two-phase refrigerant into a shell of a core-in-shell exchanger are disclosed. One system includes: an exchanger shell; a heat-exchanging core disposed inside the exchanger shell; and an inlet flow distributor for directing incoming fluid comprising: a baffle plate with an array of orifice holes, wherein the orifice holes are off-set from the heat-exchanging core.

This application is a non-provisional application which claims benefitunder 35 USC §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/803,503filed 20 Mar. 2013, entitled “CORE-IN-SHELL EXCHANGER REFRIGERANT INLETFLOW DISTRIBUTOR,” which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to equipment utilized duringliquefaction of natural gas. More particularly, but not by way oflimitation, embodiments of the present invention include a refrigerantinlet flow distributor used to introduce two-phase refrigerant into ashell of a heat-exchanging apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Natural gas is an important resource widely used as energy source or asindustrial feedstock used in, for example, manufacture of plastics.Comprising primarily of methane, natural gas is a mixture of naturallyoccurring hydrocarbon gases and is typically found in deep undergroundnatural rock formations or other hydrocarbon reservoirs. Othercomponents of natural gas include, but are not limited to, ethane,propane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulfide.

Typically, natural gas is transported from source to consumers throughpipelines that physically connect a reservoir to a market. Becausenatural gas is sometimes found in remote areas devoid of necessaryinfrastructure (i.e., pipelines), alternative methods for transportingnatural gas must be used. This situation commonly arises when the sourceof natural gas and the market are separated by great distances, forexample a large body of water. Bringing this natural gas from remoteareas to market can have significant commercial value if the cost oftransporting natural gas is minimized.

One alternative method of transporting natural gas involves convertingnatural gas into a liquefied form through a liquefaction process.Because natural gas exists in vapor phase under standard atmosphericconditions, it must be subjected to certain thermodynamic processes inorder to be liquefied to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG). In itsliquefied form, natural gas has a specific volume that is significantlylower than its specific volume in its vapor form. Thus, the liquefactionprocess greatly increases the ease of transporting and storing naturalgas, particularly in cases where pipelines are not available. Forexample, ocean liners carrying LNG tanks can effectively link a naturalgas source with a distant market when the source and market areseparated by large bodies of water.

Converting natural gas to its liquefied form can have other economicbenefits. For example, storing LNG can help balance out periodicfluctuations in natural gas supply and demand. In particular, LNG can bemore easily “stockpiled” for later use when natural gas demand is lowand/or supply is high. As a result, future demand peaks can be met withLNG from storage, which can be vaporized as demand requires.

In order to store and transport natural gas in the liquid state, thenatural gas is typically cooled to −160° C. at near-atmospheric vaporpressure. Liquefaction of natural gas can be achieved by sequentiallypassing the gas at an elevated pressure through a plurality of coolingstages whereupon the gas is cooled to successively lower temperaturesuntil the liquefaction temperature is reached. Cooling is generallyaccomplished by indirect heat exchange with one or more refrigerantssuch as propane, propylene, ethane, ethylene, methane, nitrogen, carbondioxide, or combinations of the preceding refrigerants (e.g., mixedrefrigerant systems).

Cryogenic exchangers (e.g., shell-and-tube exchanger, brazed aluminumheat exchanger, core-in-shell exchanger, etc.) are often installed inLNG facilities to facilitate indirect heat exchange. Cryogenicexchangers may be used, for example, to transfer heat from a natural gasstream to a refrigerant stream. Some conventional core-in-shell heatexchangers feature a brazed aluminum heat exchanger (BAHX) core insertedin a horizontally-oriented, cylindrical pressure vessel shell. Theseshells tend to be long in length to ensure that the BAHX core issubmerged in a pool of evenly distributed refrigerant.

A BAHX exchanger is typically compact, rigid, and constructed of severaldifferent aluminum alloys. Aluminum has no endurance limit, or stressvalue below which the material will withstand infinite load cycles. Assuch, BAHX's are susceptible to fatigue failure when subjected torepeated thermal cycles, high internal temperature gradients, orexcessive thermal transients. Erosion damage to the core can result whenliquid refrigerant repeatedly impinges on the BAHX core directly insidethe shell. Consequently, flow control that results in good distributionof fluid may be particularly important when introducing a two-phaserefrigerant into a core-in-shell exchanger as two-phase fluids canrapidly change BAHX metal temperature. A conventional LNG facilitytypically features a two-phase expander that can at least partiallyexpand a refrigerant into the vapor phase to produce a two-phaserefrigerant. Piping arrangements used to transfer fluids in LNGfacilities are typically elaborate and asymmetrically configured whichcan lead to momentum-induced flow maldistribution of a two-phaserefrigerant as it enters core-in-shell exchangers.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates generally to equipment utilized duringliquefaction of natural gas. More particularly, but not by way oflimitation, embodiments of the present invention include a refrigerantinlet flow distributor used to introduce two-phase refrigerant into ashell of a heat-exchanging apparatus.

One example of a heat-exchanging apparatus comprises: an exchangershell; a heat-exchanging core disposed inside the exchanger shell; andan inlet flow distributor for directing incoming fluid comprising: abaffle plate with an array of orifice holes, wherein the orifice holesare off-set from the heat-exchanging core.

Another example of a heat-exchanging apparatus comprises: a hollowhorizontally-oriented exchanger shell; a heat-exchanging core disposedinside the hollow horizontally-oriented exchanger shell; an inlet flowdistributor comprising: a baffle plate with an array of orifice holesand a wall plate, wherein the orifice holes are off-set from theheat-exchanging core and the wall plate directs an incoming fluidthrough at least one orifice hole; and an inlet configured to introducethe incoming fluid into the hollow horizontally-oriented exchanger shellthrough the inlet flow distributor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention and benefitsthereof may be acquired by referring to the following description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating a core-in-shell exchanger equippedwith a refrigerant inlet flow distributor according to one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the core-in-shell exchanger fromFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention,one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of theinvention, not as a limitation of the invention. It will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that various modifications and variations canbe made in the present invention without departing from the scope orspirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or describedas part of one embodiment can be used on another embodiment to yield astill further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the presentinvention cover such modifications and variations that come within thescope of the invention.

The present invention disclosed herein is directed to an inlet flowdistributor designed to improve flow of a fluid entering a relativelylarge cross-sectional area (e.g., shell of a core-in-shell exchanger)from a relatively small cross-sectional area (e.g., conduit). The inletflow distributor is designed to impart a predetermined and/or desiredpressure drop on the entering fluid (e.g., refrigerant in an LNGliquefaction process) for the purpose of improving flow distribution. Inanother aspect, this device can also counteract momentum-inducedrefrigerant flow maldistribution problems resulting from non-symmetricalexternal piping arrangement in a core-in-shell exchanger. Furthermore,the inlet flow distributor can prevent or impede erosion damage tocertain components (e.g., BAHX cores) by reducing or preventing liquidrefrigerants from impinging directly onto the certain componentsinstalled inside the exchanger shell.

Core-in-Shell Exchanger

Some conventional core-in-shell exchangers address flow distribution anderosion protection issues by, for example, utilizing an internal flowdistributor having large slots in the bottom or employing an internalflow distributor open at both ends. These conventional core-in-shellexchangers may be hampered by certain design issues. For example, thelarge slots in the former design typically do not impart sufficientpressure drop to provide good refrigerant flow distribution inside theshell. Moreover, core-in-shell exchangers employing these internal flowdistributors can allow refrigerants to impinge directly on the BAHXcore.

In some embodiments, the inlet flow distributor may be integrated orotherwise utilized in a compatible system to control fluid flow. Whilereferences herein are made to a core-in-shell exchanger as an examplecompatible system, this is not intended to be limiting. Other compatiblesystems (e.g., shell and tube exchanger comprising tube bundle as theheat-exchanging core), including core-in-shell exchanger configurationsnot disclosed herein, may be used in conjunction with the inlet flowdistributor of the present invention. While at least one embodimentdescribed herein relates to a core-in-shell exchanger featuring an inletflow distributor of the present invention installed in a liquefiednatural gas facility for use during an LNG process, this is not intendedto be limiting. Other compatible facilities/processes may include, butare not limited to, gas plants, NGL processing plants, ammoniaprocessing plants, ammonia refrigeration systems, ethylene plants andthe like.

FIGS. 1-2 are schematics only and, therefore, many items of equipmentthat would be needed in a commercial core-in-shell exchanger forsuccessful operation have been omitted for sake of clarity. Such itemsmay include, for example, nozzles, inlets, outlets, header tanks, spacerbars, and the like.

Core-in-shell exchangers (sometimes referred to as “core-in-drum” or acommercially available version called Core-in-Kettle® from Chart E & Clocated in La Crosse, Wis.) are well-known heat exchangers often used inlieu of shell-and-tube cryogenic exchangers during liquefaction ofnatural gas (“LNG process”). Some core-in-shell exchangers can containup to 10 times more heat transfer surface per unit volume than ashell-and-tube unit despite being as little as about half in size andabout a fifth in weight.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a core-in-shell exchanger 5 equipped withan example inlet flow distributor 30 in accordance with the conceptsdescribed herein is illustrated. The core-in-shell heat exchanger 5includes a BAHX core 20 housed in a hollow exchanger shell 10. As shown,the exchanger shell 10 is cylindrical and horizontally-oriented suchthat its dimension along the horizontal axis is substantially longerthan its dimension along the vertical axis. The illustrated BAHX(sometimes referred to as “plate-fin exchanger”) core 20 can beconstructed from alternating layers of corrugated fins and flatseparator sheets. The stacked arrangement is then vacuum brazed to yieldthe BAHX core 20. The resulting core is made up of finned chambersseparated by flat plates that route fluid through alternating hot andcold passages. Heat can be transferred via fins in the passageways,through the separator plate, and into the cold fluids via fins again.Nozzles and headers (not illustrated) may be attached to the BAHX core20 to route fluid in and out of the core. The exchanger shell 10 mayalso be connected to nozzles and headers to route fluid in and out ofthe shell (not illustrated). Due to the narrow flow channels between thefins and sheets, even distribution of fluid can be important forsuccessful operations. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of thecore-in-shell exchanger illustrated in FIG. 1. For clarity, samereference numbers are used in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Inlet Flow Distributor

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-2, the inlet flow distributor30 is installed near or at the top portion of the core-in-shellexchanger 5 such that fluid injected horizontally into the exchangerthrough inlet nozzles 50 is discharged vertically down through theorifice holes 40. The arrows in FIG. 2 indicate the direction of fluidflow. The inlet flow distributor 5 comprises of a two perpendicularplates joined along an edge to form an “L” shaped structure asillustrated in FIG. 2. The vertical plate 35 is solid while roundorifice holes 40 have been drilled on the horizontal baffle plate 60Plate dimensions and orifice hole diameters will vary depending on anumber of factors including, but not limited to, physical size of theshell, amount of refrigerant flow entering the shell, and physicalproperties of the refrigerant.

The orifice holes 40 are strategically-sized, -shaped and located toprovide a preselected and/or desired distribution of refrigerant flow.Referring to FIG. 1, the inlet flow distributor 30 includes an array oforifice holes comprising two rows of orifice holes 40, each rowextending out to the lateral ends of the inlet flow distributor 30. Therows are defined by the orifice holes that have been drilled and/orfashioned onto the horizontal baffle plate 60. As illustrated in FIG. 1,the top row comprises a non-interrupted row of orifice holes while thebottom row is interrupted by a non-drilled area such that the array oforifice holes are off-set or misaligned vertically to the BAHX core toensure that the two-phase refrigerant mixture does not jet out of theorifice holes and impinge directly on the BAHX core (see FIG. 2).

While the first row has a greater number of orifice holes compared tothe number of orifice holes on the second row, in some embodiments, thehorizontal baffle plate 60 may contain any arrangement of orifice holes,including any number of rows, columns, non-drilled area, etc. Thespecific dimensions and arrangement of the orifice holes depend a numberof factors including, but not limited to, BAHX core dimensions, shelllength and width, refrigerant inlet weight fraction vapor, refrigerantinlet liquid density, refrigerant inlet vapor density, number of orificeholes, orifice hole diameter, and orifice hole discharge coefficient. Insome embodiments, the total area of the orifice holes can be about 5% toabout 25% of total area of the baffle plate. In some embodiments, theorifice holes may have non-round shapes. Suitable examples of non-roundshapes may include, but are not limited to, squares, rectangles,hexagons, stars, crosses, and the like. Optionally, the inlet flowdistributor 30 may include one or more lateral solid plates that flankthe lateral sides of the inlet flow distributor 30. In some embodiments,the inlet flow distributor may be made from a material selected from thegroup consisting of: stainless steels, austenitic stainless steels,carbon steel alloys, aluminum, aluminum alloys, and combinationsthereof.

In some embodiments, the core-in-shell exchanger 5 can be integrated ina refrigeration system such that a two-phase refrigerant stream entersthrough inlet nozzles 50. The inlet flow distributor 30 is used tocontrol the flow of the two-phase refrigerant to the exchanger shell 10.In such embodiments, the two-phase refrigerant is injected into theinlet flow distributor 30 where it flows laterally, away from the inletnozzles 50 before exiting through the array of orifice holes 40 suchthat the refrigerant does not directly impinge the BAHX core 20 andcollecting evenly at the bottom of the exchanger shell 10. Over time,the BAHX core 20 becomes submerged in a pool of liquid refrigerant. Thecold refrigerant boils and partially vaporizes as a warm process streamflowing through the BAHX core 20 is simultaneously cooled as describedabove. The inlet flow distributor 30 resists flow maldistribution thatcan result from non-symmetric refrigerant piping external to thecore-in-shell exchanger. The round orifice holes are located such that arefrigerant entering the exchanger shell 10 does not impinge directly onthe BAHX core and thus prevents erosion damage to the brazed aluminumcore.

The following example of a certain embodiment of the invention is given.The example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, one ofmany embodiments of the invention, and the following example should notbe read to limit, or define, the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

This example calculates a sample pressure drop (i.e., decrease inpressure from one point in a tube to another point downstream) that canoccur on a two-phase refrigerant as it is introduced through arefrigerant inlet flow distributor according to one or more embodiments.

Equations (1) and (2) show different forms of a separated flow two-phasepressure loss model where ΔP_(sp) is a single phase pressure dropthrough a tube, f is friction factor, L is orifice hole length, D isorifice hole diameter, v is velocity, g_(c) is gravitational constant(1.00), ρ is density, and K is orifice discharge coefficient

$\left( {{f\frac{L}{D_{orifice}}} = 0.779} \right).$

$\begin{matrix}{{\Delta \; P_{sp}} = {f\frac{L}{D_{orifice}}{\frac{v^{2}}{2\; g_{c}} \cdot \rho}}} & (1) \\{{\Delta \; P_{sp}} = {K{\frac{v^{2}}{2\; g_{c}} \cdot \rho}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

Equation (3) describes the relationship between total mass velocity(G_(c)), total mass flow rate and total area (A_(total)) of orificeholes, where D_(orifice) is orifice hole diameter.

$\begin{matrix}{G_{t} = \frac{m_{total}}{A_{total}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

where m_(total)=74.39 kg/s (empirically measured) and

$A_{total} = {{\frac{\pi}{4}\left( D_{orifice} \right)^{2}\left( {\# \mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {orifice}\mspace{14mu} {holes}} \right)} = {{\frac{\pi}{4}\left( {0.009\mspace{14mu} m} \right)^{2}(3800)} = {0.24175\mspace{14mu} m^{2}}}}$

Substituting m_(total) and A_(total) into (3):

$G_{t} = {\frac{74.39\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{s}}{0.24175\mspace{14mu} m^{2}} = {307.715\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{2} \cdot s}}}$

Velocity (v) is equal to the total mass flow rate divided by density andtotal area as shown in equation (4). Rearranging and substituting forG_(t) yields equation (5).

$\begin{matrix}{v = {\frac{m_{total}}{\rho \cdot A_{total}} = \frac{G_{t}}{\rho}}} & (4) \\{v^{2} = \frac{G_{t}^{2}}{\rho^{2}}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

Substituting equation (5) into equation (2) yields equation (6) whichdescribes the single-phase pressure drop in general form. Single-phasevapor pressure drop (ΔP_(v)) can be calculated by multiplying thegeneral form pressure drop with the inlet vapor fraction by weight(y=0.3570) as shown in equation (8). Single-phase liquid pressure drop(ΔP_(l)) can be calculated by multiplying the general form pressure dropwith (1-y) as shown in equation (7) below.

$\begin{matrix}{{\Delta \; P_{sp}} = {{K{\frac{\left( \frac{G_{t}^{2}}{\rho^{2}} \right)}{2\; g_{c}} \cdot \rho}} = \frac{{KG}_{t}^{2}}{2\rho \; g_{c}}}} & (6) \\{{\Delta \; P_{l}} = {{{KG}_{t}^{2}\left( {1 - y} \right)}^{2}\left( \frac{1}{2\rho_{l}g_{c}} \right)}} & (7) \\{{\Delta \; P_{v}} = {{{KG}_{t}^{2}(y)}^{2}\left( \frac{1}{2\rho_{v}g_{c}} \right)}} & (8)\end{matrix}$

Equation (9) expands the pressure loss model to two-phase pressure drop(ΔP_(tpf)):

ΔP _(tpf) =ΔP _(l) +C√ΔP _(l) ΔP _(v) +ΔP _(v)   (9)

-   -   Where:    -   C=Correlating Factor For Two-Phase Friction

${{{For}\mspace{14mu} G_{t}} < {339\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{2} \cdot s}}},\mspace{31mu} {C = {C_{o}\left( {1 - \frac{\rho_{v}}{\rho_{l}}} \right)}^{1.5}}$

For both liquid & gas phases turbulent, C_(o)=20

Substituting:

$C = {{20\left( {1 - \frac{9.428\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{3}}}{671.3\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{3}}}} \right)^{1.5}} = 19.58}$

Solving for ΔP_(l) in equation (7) where density of liquid is

$671.3\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{3}}\mspace{14mu} {{yields}:}$

${\Delta \; P_{l}} = {{(0.779)\left( {307.715\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{2} \cdot s}} \right)^{2}\left( {1 - 0.3570} \right)^{2}\left( \frac{1}{(2)\left( {671.30\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{3}}} \right)(1.00)} \right)} = {22.715\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m \cdot s^{2}}}}$

Solving for ΔP_(v) in equation (8) where density of vapor is 9.428 kg/m³yields:

${\Delta \; P_{v}} = {{(0.779)\left( {307.715\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{2} \cdot s}} \right)^{2}(0.3570)^{2}\left( \frac{1}{(2)\left( {9.43\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{3}}} \right)(1.00)} \right)} = {498.56\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m \cdot s^{2}}}}$

Solving for ΔP_(tpf) in equation (9) yields:

${\Delta \; P_{tpf}} = {{22.715\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m^{2} \cdot s}} + {19.58\sqrt{\left( {22.715\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m \cdot s^{2}}} \right)\left( {498.56\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m \cdot s^{2}}} \right)}} + {498.56\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m \cdot s^{2}}}}$$\mspace{20mu} {{\Delta \; P_{tpf}} = {{2,604.94\mspace{14mu} \frac{kg}{m \cdot s^{2}}} = {2.61\mspace{14mu} {kPa}}}}$

Table 1 summarizes process conditions of Example 1.

TABLE 1 Process Conditions Total mass flowrate (m_(total)) 74.39 kg/sOrifice discharge coeff (K) 0.779 Inlet weight fraction vapor (Y) 0.3579Liquid phase density (ρ_(l)) 671.30 kg/m³ Vapor Phase Density (ρ_(v))9.43 kg/m³ Gravitational Constant (g_(c)) 1.00 Total Mass Velocity(G_(t)) 307.72 kg/m² · s Two-Phase Friction Correlation (C) 19.58

Table 2 summarizes geometry of the inlet flow distributor of Example 1.

TABLE 2 Orifice Plate Geometry Hole Diameter 9.00 mm Number of Holes3800 Total Hole Area 0.24 m²

Table 3 summarizes calculated pressure drop of Example 1.

TABLE 3 Pressure Drop Liquid Phase (ΔP_(l)) 22.715 kg/m · s² Vapor Phase(ΔP_(l)) 498.56 kg/m · s² Two-Phase (ΔP_(tpf)) 2605 kg/m · s²

In closing, it should be noted that the discussion of any reference isnot an admission that it is prior art to the present invention,especially any reference that may have a publication date after thepriority date of this application. At the same time, each and everyclaim below is hereby incorporated into this detailed description orspecification as a additional embodiments of the present invention.

Although the systems and processes described herein have been describedin detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions,and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the following claims Those skilled in theart may be able to study the preferred embodiments and identify otherways to practice the invention that are not exactly as described herein.It is the intent of the inventors that variations and equivalents of theinvention are within the scope of the claims while the description,abstract and drawings are not to be used to limit the scope of theinvention. The invention is specifically intended to be as broad as theclaims below and their equivalents.

REFERENCES

All of the references cited herein are expressly incorporated byreference. The discussion of any reference is not an admission that itis prior art to the present invention, especially any reference that mayhave a publication data after the priority date of this application.Incorporated references are listed again here for convenience:

1. U.S. Pat. No. 8,257,508

2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,270

1. A heat-exchanging apparatus comprising: an exchanger shell; aheat-exchanging core disposed inside the exchanger shell; and an inletflow distributor for directing incoming fluid comprising: a baffle platewith an array of orifice holes, wherein the orifice holes are off-setfrom the heat-exchanging core.
 2. The heat-exchanging apparatus of claim1, wherein the heat-exchanging core is selected from the groupconsisting of: a brazed aluminum heat exchanger, a plate-fin heatexchanger, a tube bundle, and any combination thereof.
 3. Theheat-exchanging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the array of orifice holescomprises one or more rows of the orifice holes fashioned on the baffleplate.
 4. The heat-exchanging apparatus of claim 3, wherein the array oforifice holes comprises two or more rows of orifice holes, wherein thetwo or more rows of orifice holes are different in length.
 5. Theheat-exchanging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inlet flow distributoris configured to prevent direct impinging of the fluid onto theheat-exchanging core.
 6. The heat-exchanging apparatus of claim 1,wherein the at least one inlet nozzle is installed directly over thearray of orifice holes.
 7. The heat-exchanging apparatus of claim 1,wherein the array of orifice holes has a total area that ranges fromabout 5% to about 25% of the total area of the baffle plate.
 8. Theheat-exchanging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the orifice holes have ashape selected from the group consisting of: a circle, a square, arectangle, a hexagon, a star, a cross, and a combination thereof.
 9. Theheat-exchanging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat-exchangingapparatus is installed in a liquefied natural gas plant, a gas plant, anNGL processing plant, an ammonia processing plant, an ammoniarefrigeration system, or an ethylene plant.
 10. The heat-exchangingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the baffle plate is made from a materialselected from the group consisting of: stainless steel, austeniticstainless steel, carbon steel alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, and acombination thereof.
 11. A heat-exchanging apparatus comprising: ahollow horizontally-oriented exchanger shell; a heat-exchanging coredisposed inside the hollow horizontally-oriented exchanger shell; aninlet flow distributor comprising: a baffle plate with an array oforifice holes and a wall plate, wherein the orifice holes are off-setfrom the heat-exchanging core and the wall plate directs an incomingfluid through at least one orifice hole; and an inlet configured tointroduce the incoming fluid into the hollow horizontally-orientedexchanger shell through the inlet flow distributor.
 12. Theheat-exchanging apparatus of claim 11, wherein the heat-exchanging coreis selected from the group consisting of: a brazed aluminum heatexchanger, a plate-fin heat exchanger, a tube bundle, and anycombination thereof.
 13. The heat-exchanging apparatus of claim 11,wherein the array of orifice holes comprises one or more rows of theorifice holes fashioned on the baffle plate.
 14. The heat-exchangingapparatus of claim 13, wherein the array of orifice holes comprises twoor more rows of orifice holes, wherein the two or more rows of orificeholes are different in length.
 15. The heat-exchanging apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the inlet flow distributor is configured to preventdirect impinging of the fluid onto the heat-exchanging core.
 16. Theheat-exchanging apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one inletnozzle is installed directly over the array of orifice holes.
 17. Theheat-exchanging apparatus of claim 11, wherein the array of orificeholes has a total area that ranges from about 5% to about 25% of thetotal area of the baffle plate.
 18. The heat-exchanging apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the orifice holes have a shape selected from the groupconsisting of: a circle, a square, a rectangle, a hexagon, a star, across, and a combination thereof.
 19. The heat-exchanging apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the core-in-shell exchanger is installed in aliquefied natural gas plant, a gas plant, an NGL processing plant, anammonia processing plant, an ammonia refrigeration system, or anethylene plant.
 20. The heat-exchanging apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe baffle plate is made from a material selected from the groupconsisting of: stainless steel, austenitic stainless steel, carbon steelalloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, and a combination thereof.